Life, blackjack and beyond.

Mohegan Sun April 2018

April 12, 2018

As a bit of a warm-up for next week’s trip to Vegas – I am here at Mohegan Sun in lovely Connecticut. It was a beautiful day to drive up – awaiting my parents’ arrival (got comp tickets for my mom and aunt to see “Max Val and Peta” tonight (my mom is a huge Dancing With the Stars fan)).

I took a brief nap before my aunt and cousin arrived. For those of you who do not know – I have been dealing with insomnia and sleep issues for about six months. Some nights I will not be able to fall asleep at all – other nights I fall asleep at 10pm then not wake up until the next evening at 7pm. I need to get this sorted out – maybe the jet lag associated with a Vegas trip will right the ship.

We headed to the Michael Jordan Sports Cafe for dinner and, after being seated, waited for ten plus minutes with nary a glance from the wait staff. I asked everyone with me if they wanted to leave – the “Ayes” had it and we ventured down the escalator to the first level and had a good time at Johnny Rocket’s — goodbye MJ23 – I hardly knew ye!

Headed to the room after dinner, my dad headed off to the slots and my mom and aunt headed to the show. Shortly before the start time of the show, my mom and aunt called and asked me to retrieve some shopping bags from them as they were not allowed to enter the arena with them — off I went to grab the bags from them and bring them back to the room. On the way back to the room, down a long, empty hallway, I spotted a 5 bill on the floor (talk about +EV)!!!

I finally made my way down to the blackjack tables – the high limit room was sparsely populated so I was able to get a table to myself. I had 75 in free play so put that up on the first hand along with a black chip and won – off to a promising start. By the end of the first shoe, I was +100 with no hands really to write home about.

A dealer change accompanied the commencement of the second shoe and things were going well — halfway through I was +400 — I put up a 200 bet and was dealt a 7,7 against a dealer 6 — excitedly I split:

First 7: dealt a 4, doubled and drew a 5 for 16;

Second 7: dealt another 7 (split) then drew a 3, doubled and was dealt a 6 for 16;

Third 7: dealt an 8 for 15;

The dealer, of course, turned over an Ace for 17 (a 1200 swing on that hand) — as such, I was now -$800.

The dealer shuffled and, as she was about to deal the first card, a gentleman asked if he could join – not one to ever tell people what to do with their money, I told him it was ok by me — he bought in for 200 (at a $100 minimum table) — he bet it on the first hand and lost – he then asked if we could wait while he went to the ATM – sure, why not — he came back with another 200 and, once again, lost it on the first hand — he then asked AGAIN if we would wait – at this point, I told him to take his time as I was switching tables.

I switched to a table being dealt by an affable Chinese dealer – he was fun to play with – he basically gave me his dissertation on “local banks” versus “national” and “international banks” and why you would choose one over the other.

While the conversation was lively and informative, after 3 shoes, I was down a total of 1400 for the trip. The dealer was tapped out as his shift had ended. The next dealer came in and proceeded to bend me over dry. She made 21 on 8 occasions in the shoe – leaving me, at the end thereof, -2k for the trip.

Down to my last 500 for the trip, I waged war with the cards for the next two hours. Basically, each time I was ahead 500 in a shoe, I would take a break. I know, I know – it is meaningless as blackjack is one big, lifelong shoe – but, sometimes, confidence can turn things around. By the end of the night, I had not only made it back to EVEN for the day, but even won 50, of which half went to the dealer.

Right when I was taking the below photo, a guy wearing a Texas tuxedo approached me and asked me if I needed directions – I said no – he then asked if I wanted him to take my photo in front of the sign – I said no and made my way through the casino — a few moments later he approached me again to inform me that someone once broke a piece of the glass sculpture (seen in the background) and the casino made them pay 10k — I am not sure why he was telling me this or why he was trying to insert himself into my casino trip but, oh well, it takes all kinds